President’s Message
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skiers from 23 countries took part in January’s IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships
President’s Message
“On behalf of the whole Paralympic Movement I wish Japan and New Zealand well and hope they show courage and strength in rebuilding their lives and infrastructure.”
Welcome to a packed edition of The Paralympian, the first of 2011, which I’m sure you will find full of Paralympic sports action. Before I tell you about what is inside this edition I think it is only right to express my thoughts and condolences to the people of Japan and New Zealand following February and March’s fatal earthquakes. For a major earthquake to hit Christchurch so soon after the conclusion of the IPC Athletics World Championships has made it feel even more tragic for the whole Paralympic Movement. Usually disasters of this magnitude happen in places where very few of us have ever been. But this occurred in a place where just three weeks earlier we had over a thousand athletes and officials. I know lots of us could relate to the harrowing TV pictures, especially those of Cathedral Square where only a few weeks earlier the scene was very different with a colourful Opening Ceremony event featuring all the athletes. On behalf of the whole Paralympic Movement I wish Japan and New Zealand well and hope they show courage and strength in rebuilding their lives and infrastructure. New Zealand features heavily in this edition. In addition to a full review of the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships, we also speak to Fiona Pickering, the Chief Executive of Paralympics New Zealand. She shares with us her views on what legacy the Championships will leave whilst Australia’s Evan O’Hanlon, who won two sprint gold medals in Christchurch, tells us his aim to become the World’s fastest Paralympian.
The main focus of this issue however is the publi cation of the IPC’s Strategic Plan 2011-2014 which outlines the direction the governing body wishes to take over the next four years. It focuses on the goals and priorities to be pursued by the IPC headquarters in Bonn and aims to build on previous successful plans that achieved signi ficant results. We also talk to Para-Canoe and Para-Triathlon, the two new sports that will form part of Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. As well as looking ahead to future events in the Paralympic calendar, we review a number of thrilling events that took place in the last few months including the Asian Para Games, IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships, IPC Ice Sledge Hockey European Championships, Paralympic Winter World Cup and the IPC Biathlon and Cross-Country Skiing World Cup Finals! As usual, we have a round-up of the latest updates from London 2012, Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016. In fact we had so much content for this edition that we have had to put much more of it online! So if you want to see extended interviews with Seb Coe and Evan O’Hanlon simply log onto www.Paralympic Sport.TV or visit www.youtube.com/paralympic sporttv to see more. Enjoy this issue and the additional online content!
Sir Philip Craven, MBE IPC President
France’s Marie Bochet tackles the course at the IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships